Should you pursue a STEM career?

DO YOU REMEMBER WHEN EVERYONE ASKED …

“WHAT WOULD YOU LIKE TO BE WHEN YOU GROW UP”

DO YOU REMEMBER WHAT YOU SAID?

Chances are if you ask a young girl what she wants to be when she grows up, her answer might be a ballerina or a movie star. A few years later she might have decided she wants to be an astronaut or a chef, and that is good while she is still a child. Dream anything and everything; there’s nothing she can’t be or do! When she is older and choosing where to go with her career, she will have to make some more pragmatic choices.

She can still be a ballerina, a movie star, an astronaut or a chef but now she must decide how practical her career choice is. How much effort she is willing to put into earning the credentials the position requires. She should also consider what the best jobs are for women.

There are always articles in the press and online about the “Top Jobs for Women”. In the US the top job might just be President of the United States. The problem is, there is only one position available. Perhaps the more appropriate title should be “The Best Jobs for Women.” What jobs offer a rewarding career, good pay and plenty of opportunities.

SO WHAT ARE THE BEST JOBS FOR WOMEN?

CHEF:

This is an occupation which, for the right person could be the ultimate combination of creativity and personal satisfaction not to mention the opportunity to work anywhere in the world.

BALLERINA:

Hard work, dedication, and practice then more hard work, dedication, and practice and if all goes well the applaud. Ballet Is an occupation for perfectionists.

“TOP JOB” VS “BEST JOB”

There are several lists available espousing the “Top” jobs for women, rating them by their position on the pay scale. My preference is to assess the “Best” jobs for women and while pay scale is influential, so is the level of education and appropriate training required. Current and future employment trends and work-life balance are also important.

For anyone researching existing or future trends in the job market, the term STEM is becoming a new standard. STEM is an acronym for “Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics” and projections show that jobs in these fields have grown at almost double the rate, and will continue to outperform many other job fields into the future. This study http://www.esa.doc.gov/sites/default/files/stemfinalyjuly14_1.pdf by U.S. Department of Commerce, Economics and Statistics Administration, verifies these statistics. Similar statistics from Canada, Europe, and Asia support these views.

AUTOMATION, IS IT ELIMINATING JOBS OR CREATING THEM?

Job loss to automation is increasingly becoming a concern with autonomous machinery and robots currently replacing many jobs. Fortunately, the same products that are taking over many jobs have created a new industry and new opportunities for designers and engineers.

The workplace is an ever changing place, and the rate of change is rapidly increasing. Future generations will have to become adaptable to change and equip themselves with the skill sets required to keep pace with those changes. Recent studies have indicated that certain jobs are more likely at risk than others as demonstrated by the influx of autonomous mining equipment worldwide, these jobs were thought to be quite safe a few years ago.

Many operations that are constant and calculable are targets for a robotic replacement which leaves a lot of potential that a job is at risk. These could include positions such as sales clerks and cashiers, food handlers and if industry follows the mining lead, almost any transportation driver, operator or pilot. Occupations which still seem relatively safe are in the areas of education from early childhood to secondary school level, health care professionals, and commercial sales managers.

BEST JOB CHOICES IN THE FUTURE WILL MOST LIKELY BE STEM JOBS.

Regarding the top jobs lists, most of the entries in this category fall into the medical profession, and while they do represent the highest salary group, they also require the most education and a relatively long time to complete and fully qualify for the top remuneration.

Orthodontists and dentists are usually near or at the head of this group. Computer system analysts often fall within this salary group but will usually have a Masters degree to qualify at this level. Anyone in this group may well have spent at least seven or eight years to reach this level.

Still, in the top job category and lower on the pay scale but slightly higher on the life, work balance is more health care positions as well as some high-tech positions which, while still requiring higher education, can take two to four years. These are usually still within the STEM disciplines.

YOUR “BEST JOB” WILL BE THE JOB THAT SUITS YOU AND YOUR NEEDS, NOT NECESSARILY THE JOB AT THE TOP OF A LIST.

Perform a search for “The best jobs for women” on your web browser; one which doesn’t use “highest-paying” as the primary attribute. Best job calculates the quality of the job by comparing factors including metrics such as salary, environment, stress, inherent hazards, physical requirements and the likelihood of continued employment. Keep in mind that the search results are someone else’s qualified opinion about which job is best. Use the results of several searches to help you decide which position best suits you and